Author: Richard Young

A retired History and Politics high school teacher (1978-2008). Former Publisher/Managing Editor of The Beat Magazine (2009-2014). Freelance Writer. Proud Grandfather.

The Greatest Fictional World Builders: Frank Herbert

by Richard Young

This is the sixth post in a series on the greatest fictional world builders and how they can teach you to write. Our sixth fictional world builder is Frank Herbert.

Welcome to the sixth post in my greatest fictional world builders series. This series is a reference and a resource for writers who are building their own worlds.

We started with Terry Pratchett and J.R.R. Tolkien. Then, we moved on to Robin Hobb, J.K. Rowling, and George Lucas. In this post, we feature Frank Herbert.

Frank Herbert is the most thorough world builder. He is best known for his book Dune – a work of fiction that Arthur C. Clarke would call The Lord of the Rings of Science Fiction. He was born 8 October 1920, and died 11 February 1986.

While that is quite the accolade, Dune is so much more than that. In this article we will explore this, find out what made this work so unique, and how it changed Science Fiction forever.

The Greatest Fictional World Builders

Number 6 – Frank Herbert

Source: dunenovels.com Photo courtesy of Byron Merritt

1. What He Did

Frank Patrick Herbert Jr. created the most complex work of Science Fiction ever to be read by more than just an editor. Foundation is a close second, lest Asimov fans feel slighted. However, they are very different books.

The Dune Series takes place over the course of several thousand years with only one character making an appearance in all the books, or at least his clones do.

The books deal with increasingly complex ideas about humanity and what it means to be human. For example, just being born does not grant a person the right to be thought of as a human.

Throughout the first three books, Paul, the protagonist, must struggle with the idea that what he is doing is evil and he knows it.

However, since he has been blessed with future-sight, he knows that it is also the right thing to do for the human species. Even though he knows it will damn humanity to thousands of years of cruelty, war, and worse.

The Galaxies

Dune’s universe is vast. The empire covers thousands of galaxies and countless billions of star systems. However, all the action happens on the most important planet, Dune.

Dune, or Arakis, to the off-worlders, is a desert planet with the most valuable substance in the universe – Spice. All the great powers of this empire vie for control of it.

Dune is action-packed and quite violent. But, it’s not about the action. It is about philosophy and psychology. It is about the long-term goals of the human race. It is also about how to run, and how to destroy, empires.

Computers are banned on Dune due to an Artificial Intelligence uprising that probably destroyed the Earth.

Rich people have human computers that help them do all their calculations. These are specially-bred men and women, Mentats, who have the important duty of not making mistakes. They calculate trajectories of space ships, they keep the stock market running, and they make complex models of molecules. They make modern civilisation possible.

But, without the Spice none of this would be possible. The Spice lengthens a human’s life. It makes their mind fast enough to calculate inter-dimensional warp jumps though subspace. It lets them predict the future. And it allows our protagonist, Paul to see the future with perfect accuracy.

He can see the consequences of his every action. He knows how and when he will die, and everything that will happen after that.

At one point, he loses his eyes. But, because he can see every consequence of every action, there is nothing that can “trip” him up, so to speak.

Everything about Dune is fascinating. Some of it is disgusting. Some of it is horrific. But, all of it will leave you with the pleasant experience of having a new thought for the first time.

Planning the book

Dune was going to be a short article for Oregon Dunes magazine about climate change, but he ended up with too much material and missed his deadline.

At the same time, he and his wife became friends with a couple who were psychologists. They would introduce Herbert to many historical and academic thinkers that shaped the ideas in Dune.

He was able to write full-time, thanks to his wife, and expanded the research he had done into a 412-page novel.

Nevertheless, the book took six years of research and planning to complete. It was published in three parts in Analogue magazine followed by a five part sequel. These two series would go on to become Dune and Prophet of Dune.

Planning the world

Herbert did not simply plan for the plot. He built his world. I mean he really considered what made it work. Dune is famous for its giant sandworms, but Herbert wanted them to make sense. He made them the reason that the planet Dune was all desert.

He made the sand worms the cause of the planet’s ecology. The worms made the Spice that people used to extend their lives and sharpen their minds. This made the planet worth fighting over.

The worms consumed the planet’s water in their larval stages, but were poisoned by it after that. This explains the deserts. But, they also made the oxygen needed for human life as a by-product. This explains how the planet could sustain so many humans and be a desert wasteland.

The worms explain why this world was so dangerous and home to harsh nomadic tribes and not gentle pastoral peoples. They were territorial and would eat anything they could sense moving on the sands. So, people could not move about normally and they had to be careful in harvesting the Spice or even walking in the desert.

The ecology of this harsh planet made these people, the Fremen, tough and warlike. Their world was a place of death, of life on the brink of nothingness. They did not cry for the dead, because that would waste water. To avoid attracting sand worms, they learnt to control their bodies perfectly so they would not sound like walking humans on the dunes, but like sifting sand instead.

They were efficient in their movements and deliberate in all their actions, which helped them in fights. Generations of conditioning on this world had removed the slow, the lazy, and the stupid from their gene-pool. Their psychology was fully able to deal with the harsh realities of life.

Thus, when Paul needed an army to win his war, they were the perfect candidates.

There is no hand waving for Herbert. Everything was planned and, for the most part, made perfect sense. The magic-like Spice is even explained at length in later books.

2. Why He Did It

Herbert was a journalist, and later a speech writer, and he just could not help wanting to write.

After failing to complete his Creative Writing Course at University, he went back to journalism. He began reading everything in Science Fiction. After about ten years (one might say the equivalent of a good post-grad degree), he wanted to write.

He began selling short stories to magazines. He had a number of minor successes, but nothing that made any money.

Until Dune. Dune is the kind of book that is given to an author like some kind of divine blessing. Nothing like it existed before. And, for Herbert, nothing he did afterwards would achieve that level of popularity.

For the rest of his life, he would be consumed with expanding the world. Even after his death, his son published dozens of novels based on the notes he left about his world.

There was just so much to this world that it did not even rely on characters to move the story forward. If felt like the universe he made was out there doing things, and it was just so big that it could not be controlled.

Things happen in Dune because they make sense, not because the author needs them to finish the story. This is something all authors should aim for.

3. When He Did It

Herbert wrote Dune in the 1960s over the course of six years.

It was a stable time for the world and Herbert. His wife provided for the family and he wrote.

However, we can see the impact of The Cold War and the after-effects of World War II in Dune.

The world of Dune exists in a stable state of continuous war. Dune follows a period of human history where humans were almost wiped out by the machines they created. This is perhaps a reference to World War II.

And, there is a constant state of espionage and subterfuge at play in Dune. This is characteristic of The Cold War period.

However, it is more important that he wrote it after Asimov, Heinlein, and Anderson. The Foundation series by Asimov is particularly relevant and Dune can be seen as a reaction against the cold, number-driven plot of Foundation.

Heinlein and Anderson set the tone for Dune.

4. Who He Did It For

I don’t think he wrote the book for anyone in particular. I think he wrote against a number of cultural forces in American society.

Dune is concerned with making religion make sense. Herbert would find useful elements of Zen Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, and others, and squash them into a scientific order of female nuns –the Bene Gesserts.

They would use the tools of religion to control the course of human evolution. This is the foundation of the plot. And the most similar element to Asimov’s Foundation

He used Islamic ideas and words to suggest the nomadic nature of the Freman, a people who had to endure a great deal of suffering. However, all religion in the Dune universe is just a front for the Bene Gesserit order. We learn that they are playing all side of every conflict.

Until they create Paul and things start to go wrong for them.

As well as critiquing religion, he was deeply concerned with the environment and how our world would be a “sand worm”-eaten desert without proper ecological management.

He creates a character for just this purpose, Liet Kynes, who has spent his long life secretly working with the Fremen to repair Dune’s ecology from those who would simply exploit it for the precious Spice.

Spice is probably a metaphor for oil in our world. Our all-consuming need for it has destroyed an entire region of Earth and is making our world uninhabitable.

5. So, What Do I Need To Read/Watch/Play?  

1. Dune 1965

The novel that launched the most thought-provoking novel in Science Fiction is a rite of passage for anyone who considers themselves well-read.

It introduced the word Ecology to the English language. It has also inspired many academics and sociologists to make it their field of expertise.

If you read Dune, you will leave with an education that is worth something.

While I love Lord of the Rings, Dune is not simply the Sci-Fi version. The most you will leave Lord of the Rings with is a healthy morality and a desire to eat like a Hobbit. Dune may actually open your mind to a wide range of thoughts. Personally, it helped me put my life into the correct perspective during a difficult time, which I am very grateful for.

Don’t base your moral code around this book unless you are a sociopath.

2. Dune Film

The David Lynch film is a famous work of art in its own right. I remember being traumatised by it in English Class. It is not anything like the book and will not give you any insights into Frank Herbert.

David Lynch who made Eraserhead and Elephant Man is better suited to body horror and surrealist film than a serious meditative work of fiction. The film lost a tremendous amount of money. Lynch was reportedly impossible to reason with, leaving neither himself, the producer, nor Herbert happy with the result.

However, as one of the most expensive work of “experimental” Sci-Fi horror ever made, it is taught for its unique style in film school.

3. Frank Herbert’s Dune – Television

The Syfy (that is how they “spell” it) Channel made a three-part miniseries that won two Emmys.

It is a much better adaptation. It was cutting edge with a modern feeling when it came out. Looking back, the special effects are now… cute but it gets the overall idea of Dune and is worth a watch.

Note: It does dumb the story down and you don’t get the depth of thought and complex ideas that went into the original book. I suggest reading the book and then enjoying this for what it is.

4. Dune Video Game

I don’t often speak about video games, but the Dune II Video Game (1992) by Westwood was notable for inventing the Real Time Strategy genre. It is considered one of the most influential games of all time.

Its combination of story, acting, and strategy have shaped the way games are created.

6. The Last Word

If Dune is the only Science Fiction book you ever read it might just be enough to keep you from embarrassing yourself at dinner parties with your nerdier friends.

It contains the best and worst thoughts on human civilisation, as well as scathing criticisms on everything you hold dear and to be true. You can only grow from reading this masterpiece.

Why Emotional Excess is Essential to Writing and Creativity – The Marginalian.

by Richard Young

The third volume of Anaïs Nin’s diaries has been on heavy rotation in recent weeks, yielding Nin’s thoughtful and timeless meditations on life, mass movements, Paris vs. New York, what makes a great city, and the joy of handicraft.

The subsequent installment, The Diary of Anais Nin, Vol. 4: 1944-1947 (public library) is an equally rich treasure trove of wisdom on everything from life to love to the art of writing. In fact, Nin’s gift shines most powerfully when she addresses all of these subjects and more in just a few ripe sentences.

Anais Nin

Such is the case with the following exquisite letter of advice she sent to a seventeen-year-old aspiring author by the name of Leonard W., whom she had taken under her wing as creative mentor. Nin writes:

I like to live always at the beginnings of life, not at their end. We all lose some of our faith under the oppression of mad leaders, insane history, pathologic cruelties of daily life. I am by nature always beginning and believing and so I find your company more fruitful than that of, say, Edmund Wilson, who asserts his opinions, beliefs, and knowledge as the ultimate verity. Older people fall into rigid patterns. Curiosity, risk, exploration are forgotten by them. You have not yet discovered that you have a lot to give, and that the more you give the more riches you will find in yourself. It amazed me that you felt that each time you write a story you gave away one of your dreams and you felt the poorer for it. But then you have not thought that this dream is planted in others, others begin to live it too, it is shared, it is the beginning of friendship and love.

[…]

You must not fear, hold back, count or be a miser with your thoughts and feelings. It is also true that creation comes from an overflow, so you have to learn to intake, to imbibe, to nourish yourself and not be afraid of fullness. The fullness is like a tidal wave which then carries you, sweeps you into experience and into writing. Permit yourself to flow and overflow, allow for the rise in temperature, all the expansions and intensifications. Something is always born of excess: great art was born of great terrors, great loneliness, great inhibitions, instabilities, and it always balances them. If it seems to you that I move in a world of certitudes, you, par contre, must benefit from the great privilege of youth, which is that you move in a world of mysteries. But both must be ruled by faith.

The Diary of Anais Nin, Vol. 4 is brimming with such poetic yet practical sagacity on the creative life and is a beautiful addition to other famous advice on writing like Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 rules for a great story, David Ogilvy’s 10 no-nonsense tips, Henry Miller’s 11 commandments, Jack Kerouac’s 30 beliefs and techniques, John Steinbeck’s 6 pointers, and Susan Sontag’s synthesized learnings.

31 Writing Prompts for October

by Richard Young

31 Writing Prompts For October 2025

Writers Write shares writing prompts and writing resources. Use these writing prompts for October 2025 to get you writing.

Hello Writer

This month, we are talking about common mistakes and typos and other things that make you look like an amateur. In 2023, we focused on building habits, beating procrastination and improving discipline. In 2024, we worked on our novels and improved our craft. This year, we are taking a closer look at editing, specifically self-editing. It is an essential skill every writer needs to master, but man, being objective and cutting down your own work is hard.

Along with a short editing lesson, you will also receive your monthly prompts as usual. Editing is definitely second-draft stuff. Use the prompts to free write, THEN try to apply the editing suggestions. This is optional.

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If this is your first time using prompts, you can learn more about freewriting here.

Spelling And Other Mistakes

Spelling and silly mistakes

This is my most hypocritical post because I cannot spot typos for the life of me, but I have learned to pay attention to a few common culprits.

Words that sound the same:  

The challenge is your spellchecker isn’t going to pick these up: they’re, their, and there or to, two, and too. Be sure to double-check.

Redundancies:

We don’t need these: a smile on her face (smiles are only ever on your face), shrugs his shoulders (we don’t shrug our knees).

Tenses:

Your spellchecker won’t pick these up either. Check carefully that you don’t switch tenses. I tend to switch when I write dialogue. I don’t know why, but I know to check it.

UK spelling vs US spelling:

Choose one set of spelling rules and stick to it. Both are accepted, but not in the same document.

Homework

Use the prompt to freewrite. Once you are done with the first draft, see if you can spot any of these mistakes in your work.

Next month, we’ll start looking at the tools we use to edit.

31 Writing Prompts For October 2025

Download your prompts here: 31 Writing Prompts For October 2025

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Happiness

Mia

by Mia Botha

Tom Dunphy – Everything Was New Reviewed by Ian Gifford

by Richard Young

Released April 2025
Reviewed by Ian Gifford 09/27/2025

It’s been a while since I’ve penned an album review, but sometimes you just need the right album to come along to inspire the writing bug, and Tom Dunphy’s debut solo release, Everything Was New, is one such album. I’ve been thinking about it since I first dropped the needle and decided that it’s something that should be shared.

As one half of the husband and wife writing duo for London’s favourite Honky Tonk band, The Rizdales, Tom is no stranger to writing a great song. This collection features five fresh Tom Dunphy originals, as well as some reworked tracks and a single cover song. The album is a stripped-back classic country record with songs that sound like they could have been written by Marty, Merle, Hank, or Willie themselves, but with Tom’s unique vocal styling. Tom covers the acoustic guitar and upright bass duties deftly, with the added talents of Toronto session stars, Steve Briggs on electric guitar and Burke Carroll on lap steel (both of the Brothers Cosmoline/BeBop Cowboys).

This overall tone is in stark contrast to the rocking Rizdales sounds we are used to, but is reminiscent of the early writers that inspired that sound. The no drums approach, coupled with the lightly strummed acoustic guitar and twangy colourings of the Telecaster and the steel, takes you back to the early days of the Grand Ole Opry and the records that were getting the artists there! It feels like Tom could have been born in a different era, yet he writes with contemporary themes and issues at heart.

Highlights for me are the first single, the lively “You Make me Shake” or “September is Gone” which provides some vivid images of the autumn and the striking line “They say new life begins with the spring, ours will begin with the fall”; and the rework of Tom’s old band’s single The Juke Joint Johnny’s’ – “Leaving Train” which has had new life breathed into it by both Steve and Burke’s contributions.

This album is true country music that reaches the same passion and emotions as its American predecessors. While it contains the expected themes of breakups and beer drinking, it’s never hokey or kitschy, it’s just a good listen from front to back, of some well written and well executed tunes, where even the lone cover (“Song to a Dead Man” by T-Bone Burnett), which the album is named after a line of, doesn’t seem out of place.

If I had to give it a Star Rating, it would be 5 Stars, because I simply can’t find anything wrong with it. It’s a record I could play over and over again and be transported to some old diner in Nashville at 3:00 am, with the jukebox gently humming in the corner.

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Reviewed by Ian Gifford (Photo Credit: Paul LaTorre)

How To Write A Bestselling Book

by Richard Young

Have you ever wondered what it takes to write a bestselling book? And how do you write a bestselling book?

How To Write A Bestselling Book

What makes a book a best-seller?

The gold star of bestseller lists is The New York Times Best Seller list. But trying to get on the list is tricky. Firstly, there is no one defining list. The New York Times has sixteen different lists and the same 10 – 15 books can appear on all of them at the same time.

To even make the grade, you must have sold between 5 000 and 10 000 traditionally published books in one week – Sunday through Saturday – across America through multiple retailers, mostly bookshops.

Apart from the occasional romance book, self-published books don’t stand a chance.

Is it easier to sell non-fiction books? No. The market is far more competitive, and the minimum number of sales needs to be 7500.

Surely there must be more to it than that?

There is, but what that entails, as far as The New York Times is concerned, is a very closely guarded secret.

So what’s a writer to do?

It depends. Are you wanting to stay true to your own voice and write the books you want to read? Or do you want to chase the market?

If you want to chase the market and only write the types of books that are currently selling, it’s important to remember that you must research what books are selling now, write one, find a publisher and then sell your book. Just finding a publisher could take six-months to a year. Once you’ve signed on with a publisher it could take six months to a year before your book hits the bookshop shelves. By then, the Vampire Nuns genre that was selling off-the-chart numbers when you first researched ‘what books are selling now’, has given way to variations of Scotsmen In Mongolia.

I want to stay true to my own voice

Okay then.

In terms of the writing:

  1. Read great books in your genre. Read a lot. Never stop reading.
  2. Come up with as original a plot as you can.
  3. Learn to write really well…
    • Take great courses from reputable companies.
    • Read great ‘how to write’ books.
    • Join writing groups – not just to chill, but to write… a lot and get feedback as this will help improve your writing.
    • Have book discussions with other authors and readers. This matters because it’s while debating the merits of Darcy of Pemberley vs Geralt of Rivia, that you discover what readers understand, prefer, and want, as well as when one type of hero is needed over another.
    • Join writers’ groups preferably in your genre. These are great not just for the comradeship but can also help if a writers’ block falls out the ceiling and hits you on the head rendering you idealess.
    • Join an author crit circle. One with strict ‘kindness’ rules.
    • Go on writing retreats, alone or with other writers who actually want to write.
    • Write as much as possible.
    • Experiment with your writing. Don’t just stick to one genre as exploring other genres, voices, tenses, and word counts, will strengthen your writing muscles. You’re not required to publish these experiments; they are writing gym. Want to write great tension in romance? Practise writing horror stories with very short word counts.
  4. Write a great book.
    • One main plot.
    • Don’t forget sub-plots.
    • Create memorable and relatable characters/scenes/scenarios/locations/choices etc.
    • Write with the audience in mind. If you’re writing romance, you must have an HEA (happy ever after) or a HFN (happy for now) ending, or it won’t qualify as a romance, and readers will be miffed. It’s hard to win back a miffed reader.
    • Avoid cliches.
    • Some advice blogs will tell you to edit for clarity not perfection. I’m not one of them. Edit first for clarity, and then for perfection. In this technologically driven day and age, there is no excuse for typos or incorrect grammar, unless the incorrect grammar is a plot device.
  1. Get alpha reader feedback. Grow a thick skin and become humble and open to hearing criticism and learn what do with it.
  2. Rewrite or edit some more.
  3. Hire an editor for a manuscript appraisal.
  4. Rewrite the book.
  5. Edit until your fingers bleed.
  6. Get beta reader feedback.
  7. Edit some more.
  8. Hire a proof-reader.
  9. If you are self-publishing – Unless you are a trained graphic designer DO NOT design your own cover. Knowing how to use Canva does not make you a designer. The easiest way to tell if a book’s cover was created by a non-designer, is the typography. Hire a designer, preferably one with a portfolio that includes book covers in your genre.
  10. (Optional) Find an excellent agent.
  11. (Optional) Find a publisher.
  12. (Optional) Sign a book contract.

The last three are optional as you may choose to go the self-publishing route.

In terms of ‘bestselling’:

  1. Know that the average book sells no more than five hundred copies in the author’s lifetime.
  2. Know that if you want your book to sell more than that you’re going to have to put in the work, and often potentially a lot of money, into making that happen.
  3. Read as many books as possible on book marketing, Amazon marketing etc., that you can.
  4. Learn about the several types of publishing available to indie-authors and how to avoid the charlatans.
  5. Learn how to recognise and avoid the book launch scams.
  6. Hire a great publicist – get recommendations from other highly successful authors. Look for a publicist that has experience in getting authors and or books known, discussed, and sold through a variety of media.
  7. Launch the book more than once. One book launch does not a bestseller make. Research which kinds of launches are the most successful.
  8. Do continual book promotion and marketing – but not to your friends and family. Not if you want to still be invited to pizza and Netflix evenings.
  9. If you’re going to write a series, write the first three books and launch them all at once. This matters more than you realise.

Keep writing. Even if it’s just one short story a month.

The Last Word

If you’d like to write for children, young adults, or adults, why not sign up for one of the rich and in-depth courses that Writers Write offers to learn how to write the best book you possibly can.

Elaine Dodge

by Elaine Dodge. Author of The Harcourts of Canada series and The Device Hunter, Elaine trained as a graphic designer, then worked in design, advertising, and broadcast television. She now creates content, mostly in written form, including ghost writing business books, for clients across the globe, but would much rather be drafting her books and short stories.

6 Ways To Experiment In Short Stories.

by Richard Young

Do you want to try something different in your short story? In this post, we give you 6 ways to experiment in short stories.

One of the best things about a short story is that you have the opportunity to experiment. It gives you the chance to do something you have never done before.

Here is a list of suggestions if you want to try something different. You can use them for any story – not just short stories.

6 Ways To Experiment In Short Stories

  1. Change viewpoint: If you have been writing in the same viewpoint, try a completely different one.
  2. Dialogue only: Flex your dialogue muscles and see if you can tell a complete story with only dialogue.
  3. Descriptions and telling: I am a huge fan of showing, but I need to practise telling too. Try rewriting your story with telling only.
  4. Unreliable narrators and anti-heroes: Try writing a character who isn’t a perfect guy or a hero. If you always write about bad guys, try writing a story about a character with a very strong moral compass.
  5. Different genre: Pick a genre you have never written in before.
  6. Devices: Try adding a new element to your story. Thinks of speeches, emails, letters, diary entries, songs, and recipes.

These are only a few suggestions, and it will be tricky. You may not end up with your best story, but you will have learnt something new and done something different. This is about learning after all.

Happy writing!

Top Tip: If you want to learn how to write a short story, sign up for our online course.

 by Mia Botha

If you enjoyed this post, you will love:

  1. How To Show And Not Tell In Short Stories
  2. How To Make The Most Of Sequels In Short Stories

Top Tip: Find out more about our workbooks and online courses in our shop.

What Is Dystopian Fiction? & How Do I Write It?

by Richard Young

Dystopian fiction is an increasingly popular genre, even though it depicts all the worst places ever! We tell you all about the genre and give some hints on how to write Dystopian stories.

What Is Dystopian Fiction?

Basically, Dystopian fiction talks about an author’s idea of hell on Earth. As a genre, it’s as old as humanity. Dystopian fiction is often considered the ugly twin of Utopian fiction. So, let’s take a brief look at this.

As a genre, Utopian fiction existed first. It takes its name from Thomas More’s novel Utopia (1516). ‘Utopia’ sounds very much like the Greek ‘eutopia,’ meaning ‘good place.’ In his book, More describes an ideal society on a secluded island, where humanity can live happily ever after. As a literary genre, Utopian fiction has its own characteristics.

You can read up on this in this blog: What Is A Utopia? How Do I Write One?

Now, back to the Dystopian fiction. The Greek prefix ‘dys-‘ means ‘bad, diseased, abnormal, difficult.’ That already tells you that Dystopia is the ‘bad place.’ Dystopian fiction describes a world much worse than our own. In these stories, people live in a dangerous, oppressive, and unfair place. Let’s look at some more characteristics.

1. The Mission.

This is the most important element. Dystopian stories are all geared at showing us what could happen in the future if the current society continues on its path. It’s a call to action to stop in our tracks and to change our course. If not, we’ll go to that fictional hell described by the author.

The mission can be about our society as such (like ‘The Hunger Games’, depicting totalitarianism and media manipulation), or about a smaller aspect (climate change, for example, or the outbreak of a virus).

2. Distance to the Reader’s Present

Dystopian stories need to be set apart from our present reality. This distance lets us accept the message of the story. Without it, readers would take the criticism personally and ultimately dismiss it.

The author can create this distance by time (science fiction or historical fiction), by place (inventing a new city or even another planet), or by manner. 

Distance by manner can involve fantasy, but full-blown fantasy creates too much distance. The readers would no longer transfer the Dystopian warning to their own reality. This would ruin the story’s mission.

A smart way to create distance by manner is to create an alternative history starting at a specific event in the past.

The TV show ‘The Man In The High Castle’ works like this. The alternative historical timeline starts with a different outcome of the Second World War. The story explores how the world would have been under Nazi rule. This parallel universe seems uncanny because it is so similar to our own world and yet so strikingly different.

3. Setting

The author must be meticulous about worldbuilding. Even if the Dystopian story is mostly set in our own day and age, the rules and laws of that Dystopian society need to differ from our own, and yet still form a consistent system. Inconsistency makes the story lose its magic.

4. The Guide Character

Both Utopian and Dystopian stories require a character who guides the readers into the world of the story. It is through these characters that we explore the set of rules of this new world.

Utopian novels have a strong connection to our own world. Usually, there’s a character visiting the Utopian world first, and then telling the story when back home. The guide character here is usually a witness.

A Dystopian story may have that (but doesn’t have to). Usually, it’s the main character (MC) who serves as the reader’s guide. Readers need to be able to identify with the MC, as this character either experiences or witnesses the rebellion against the oppressive system.

Central Themes Of Dystopian Fiction

Most Dystopian stories have certain themes in common. Here are a few:

1. Control/oppression

There’s always a dictator or an elitist group in charge. They control society through government, bureaucracy, and/or technology. The spectrum of control can range from mere surveillance to psychological and even physical control (birth control, or mind control through implants, for example). 

2. Loss of individualism to a collective ideology

This ties in with the general totalitarian feel of most dystopias. It’s the logical consequence of the complex set of rules of oppression.

3. Hostile environment

If the environment threatens the existence of the Dystopian society, then people have nowhere to escape. This is another form of control, serving as an excuse to herd people together in confined spaces.

4. A scapegoat

A scapegoat, a universal threat, or a common enemy all serve to unite the people. It camouflages the motives of the oppressive government. It makes it easier to control the people.

5. Survival

The need for survival is how the oppressive government justifies its control. However, this is also the reason for the MC’s rebellion, as the MC needs to fight for the survival of the individual.

Let’s Write Dystopian Fiction

If you’d like to try writing in this genre, here’s a word of warning. There’s no dabbling. There’s no pantsing. As a writer, you need to plot meticulously.

Here’s your action plan:

  1. Decide what aspect of modern society aggravates you the most. This will serve as the mission of your story. Amplify and exaggerate as much as you can.
  2. Decide on how you can employ the element of distance in your dystopia (distance by time? By place? By manner?). Build your world. Make sure it is consistent.
  3. Devise a protagonist. How can your MC’s experiences show the rules of this new world to the reader? Beware of too much telling.
  4. How does your MC get into conflict with your dystopian world? Is there an area where your MC doesn’t feel at home? This is where the MC’s rebellion will start.
  5. What’s the MC’s inner motivation? What are the MC’s strengths that might help win the conflict?
  6. Will the MC win? Or lose? What does the MC’s rebellion do to change the dystopian world?

The Last Word

Dystopian fiction is a genre popular with authors and readers alike. It doesn’t have to include outright violence, and it doesn’t have to end up in chaos. But it’s a great way to show the troubles and conflicts of our present day. What do you think could be done about it all?  Have a go and write your own Dystopian fiction!

Further Reading

Here are some classics of this genre:

  1. Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (1726)
  2. H.G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895)
  3. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1932)
  4. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
  5. William Golding, Lord Of The Flies (1954)
  6. Lois Lowry, The Giver (1993)
  7. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (series, starting in 2008)
  8. Ernest Cline, Ready Player One (2011)

Please check out Wikipedia’s list of Dystopian fiction.

Susanne Bennett

By Susanne Bennett. Susanne is a German-American writer who is a journalist by trade and a writer by heart. After years of working at German public radio and an online news portal, she has decided to accept challenges by Deadlines for Writers. Currently she is writing her first novel with them. She is known for overweight purses and carrying a novel everywhere. Follow her on Facebook.

What Are Themes In Children’s Stories? 10 Powerful Recurring Themes In Children’s Stories

by Richard Young

What are the themes in children’s stories? We discuss what a theme is and what the 10 powerful recurring themes in children’s stories are.

What do children want from a story?

Children want three basic elements in a story: suspense, characters who are believable, and characters who act to solve problems. We find our themes in the problems.

Superficially speaking, children like stories that include adventure, mystery, excitement, discovery, daring, novelty, and humour.

Ad ends in 11

I want to repeat a quotation from my first post in this series on writing for children: William Nicholson had C.S Lewis say in Shadowlands: ‘We read to know we are not alone.’

Children want to know that there are ways to cope with dilemmas. Writers must offer ideas and strategies that show children they are not alone.

What are themes in children’s stories?

I have included a list of themes that deal with issues that are important to this youthful audience. They cover the anxieties, fears, and desires that children experience. There are many plots you can choose as vehicles for these stories, but all of them need the protagonist to find a way to address a problem.

What Is A Theme?

A theme can be found by answering one, or both, of these questions:

  1. What does the protagonist learn about him or herself in the story?
  2. What does the protagonist learn to cope with in the story?

[Recommended reading: 3 Steps That Will Help You Find Your Story’s Theme]

10 Powerful Recurring Themes In Children’s Stories

  1. Courage.
  2. Friendship.
  3. Belonging/Identity.
  4. Family.
  5. Loss/Grief.
  6. Growing Up.
  7. Anger.
  8. Suffering.
  9. Jealousy.
  10. Love.

Examples from popular fiction:

  1. In Charlotte’s Web, Wilbur survives because of the love and friendship of Fern and Charlotte.
  2. The Harry Potter series includes all these themes, but the most prominent theme is finding the courage to face evil so that good can prevail. You can read more about the other themes in the books in this post.
  3. The main themes in The Hunger Games series are: suffering in an unequal and unjust society; loss of loved ones; and courage. Katniss has to find the courage to survive physically, to fight an unjust system, and to deal with loss and grief.
  4. In Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth, Greg has to deal with the reality of growing up.
  5. In Where the Wild Things Are, Max is sent to his room without dinner for disrespecting his mother. The author deals with Max’s anger by taking him on a trip to the magical land of the wild things.

Remember that the complexity and depth of the theme changes depending on the age level for which you are writing.

TOP TIP: If you want to learn how to write for children, sign up for kids etc. online

Children want to have fun

Remember that writing with a theme in mind does not mean that you have to preach. In fact, you should avoid it. You have to show and tell in these stories and reveal the theme through the development of the protagonist.

Suggested reading: Don’t Ever Do This When You Write For Children

If you want to show a theme rather than preach, you may want to bear these in mind:

(The younger the child, the more true these will be.)

  1. Be honest. Children are direct in their thoughts and actions.
  2. Write to amuse. Children of all age groups respond to humour.
  3. Look at the world through their eyes. Children like stories that poke fun at authorities.
  4. Write in the moment. Everything is new to children and they live in the present.

In my next post, I will write about creating characters for children’s stories.

 by Amanda Patterson
© Amanda Patterson

How To Use Contrast In Writing

by Richard Young

What is contrast in writing? We explore how to use contrast in writing with 7 different types of contrast (with examples) that you can use in your writing.

What Is Contrast In Writing?

Contrast in writing can be used as a literary device to compare. It is commonly used in many works of fiction. It is ‘the state of being strikingly different from something else in juxtaposition or close association.’ (Source: Oxford Dictionary) Basically, it means comparing two things to show the differences between them.

How To Use Contrast In Writing

Back in the day, when cowboy shows were popular on afternoon television, it was easy to see who the good guys were – white hats, and who were the baddies – black hats. That kind of contrast is way too on the nose. It was then. It certainly is now. When it comes to storytelling, there a number of different ways in which you can use contrast. We’re going to look at seven of them – with examples.

1. Juxtaposition

The most famous use of juxtaposition in literature is the opening paragraph of Charles Dickens’ A Tale Of Two Cities’. Without going into any political or geographical detail, Dickens’ paragraph places the reader right into a location rife with danger, despair, upheaval, and confusion. It puts the reader on the edge of their seat right at the beginning.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all gong direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”

If you use contrast in terms of phrases, try not to use clichés. Yes, I know Dickens used them in this opening paragraph, but a) he’s Dickens, and b) the way he used them here matters. You’re not Dickens. Try to use unexpected words, Instead of ‘light and dark’ find words that either mean the same thing or evoke the same meaning.

You can also have juxtaposition in the different characters in your book – kind vs cruel, rich vs poor, content vs restless.

In North and South by Elizabeth Gaskel, the contrast between the mill owners and the workers are brilliantly contrasted. We are taken into the world of both by the main protagonist, Margaret Hale. We see them through her eyes. We understand and have empathy for both because we can see both points of view. We want both ‘to win’. It keeps us glued to the book. Glueing your readers is good.

2. Cognitive Dissonance

The act of holding two different thoughts and beliefs as true at the same time. This often leads to inner conflict within the character. ‘She loved him, and yet would die a happy woman if she never saw him again, even though she knew she would long for him every day, miss him sitting across the dinner table each night. No, she hated him, and prayed that he would stay.’

This kind of turmoil will inevitably lead to actions that will drive the dramatic arc of the book’s plot. Shakespeare was a master craftsman at cognitive dissonance – think of Macbeth and his internal struggle against killing his friend vs attainting the throne.

If your character has no cognitive dissonance, he or she is at best a psychopath or at worst, a two-dimensional character.

3. Fish Out Of Water

Being a fish out of water doesn’t necessarily mean the entire person doesn’t belong, it could just mean that the hero would rather no one knew about his heroic deeds. When they are discovered, his discomfort, his fish-out-of-water-ness, is in the acclaim, news interviews, his picture in the paper, etc.

Another fish-out-of-water type would be a character in a time-travel story. Just think of Marty McFly in Back To The Future. A normal, average young man transported from 1985 back to 1955. To the people he encounters there’s something just a little off about him. Not in a bad way, more as if he were a stranger from another country whose experience and knowledge is based on hearsay.

Forest Gump, the titular character from the novel by Winston Groom, could have been on the autism scale. He could either be a ‘fish out of water’ or an ‘odd person out’.

4. Odd Person Out

Legally Blonde is a perfect example of an odd person out. By the end of the film, she may still not be the archetypical lawyer from Harvard, but she has earned her place and stayed true to herself. The odd person out can be a breath of fresh air.

Another ‘odd person out’ is Mr Darcy. While the world around him has more easy manners and interactions, and is prepared to be pleased, Darcy’s upbringing, his family’s expectations of him, his wealth, pride, and shyness, tend to put him on the outside of any circle in which he finds himself. This includes the circles in which he is used to move – mainly because he’s bored to tears of them all. The trouble is, he doesn’t really know how to act in the new circles of Longbourn and Meryton in Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen.

5. Internal Dichotomies

Inspector Javert, in Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, is a policeman whose passion for the law and justice is turned on its head when Jean Valjean, whom he has hunted for years, shows him mercy instead of killing him. Both are true at the same time – law and mercy. His internal dichotomy is so powerful that he can’t reconcile them and ends his life, Think of Hamlet’s need to keep Ophelia safe from the probable bloodshed in the near future vs his having to resort to breaking her heart to force her to leave. His internal struggle with this makes everyone think him mad.

Internal dichotomies, the internal arguments a character has make them interesting and more human, even if it’s just, ‘I really want chocolate cake, but I’m on diet, but I really want chocolate cake, but the wedding dress is already tight!’

6. Opposites Attract

This is an oft-used trope in novels, especially romance. It really only works in fiction. After all, she wants to go to her family in the country every weekend and he plays tennis at league level at the sports club down the road from their London home. He wants to go clubbing every night and she’s an introvert who is noise sensitive. Somethings got to give, and it’s usually the relationship.

7. Contrasting Descriptions

Cities are replete with juxtaposition – civic buildings vs the dirty alleys. They not only juxtapositions in their looks but even more in their intent and population. In one there is great privilege, wealth, corruption, greed, and racism – a dank alley of human emotions and actions. While in the other there is generosity of spirit, an inclusivity, a kindness, a strength in the despair, a community among the outcast – an invisible palace of goodness. Nothing is as black and white as that; I use these merely as examples.

Another source is the weather. A wonderful event is taking place in your book, a wedding for example, but raging around the church is a violent thunderstorm. A ship could be caught in the doldrums. The sea is as still and silent as a sheet on an unused  bed. But the men on board are slowly going insane from boredom, the heat and the lack of water, despite seeing nothing but water stretching out to the horizon.

What makes contrast in writing exciting and fun is creating something marvellous in words that didn’t exist before.

The Last Word

If you’d like to write for children, young adults, or adults, why not sign up for one of the rich and in-depth courses that Writers Write offers to learn how to write the best book you possibly can.

Elaine Dodge

by Elaine Dodge. Author of The Harcourts of Canada series and The Device Hunter, Elaine trained as a graphic designer, then worked in design, advertising, and broadcast television. She now creates content, mostly in written form, including ghost writing business books, for clients across the globe, but would much rather be drafting her books and short stories.

What is Memory? & How to Use It in Writing.

by Richard Young

In this post we look at what memory is and how to use memory in writing.

What Is Memory?

Memory is a wonderful thing. Many parts of your brain work together to collect, encode, store, and retrieve sensory, short-term, and long-term recall of events, people, and experiences you’ve had throughout your life. Sometimes, especially with trauma, those memories can be buried deep within your mind. Your brain is trying to protect you from those memories. At other times, a memory is such a beautiful one that even the lightest perfume, like vanilla, can trigger feel-good emotions within you.

Memories

All your memories will fall into either the ‘these are a few of my favourite things’ column. Others will be in the ‘do not open this box’ column. But all of them are useful to a writer. They are an almost inexhaustible resource. Don’t be afraid to use them. In fact, using them is almost a requirement when creating a good story.

You will have memories of:

  1. People you loved – parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles, siblings, cousins, friends, boyfriends, spouses, children.
  2. People with whom you were friends or enemies.
  3. People you met once.
  4. People you interact with everyday but don’t know personally – your local coffee shop barista, for example.
  5. People you see everyday but don’t really interact with – the security guard outside the building you pass on the way to work.
  6. Interiors – offices, malls, shops, doctor’s surgeries, hospitals, vet’s waiting rooms, cars, ships, trains, places of worship, pubs, restaurants etc.
  7. Locations – cities, game parks, lumber yards, garden shops, drive-in movie theatres, ice-rinks, the beach, theatres, public swimming pools and their change rooms, university campuses, school yards, etc.
  8. Views – out of windows, from the edge of a cliff, out of an airplane, from the beach across the desert, across a field, in a forest. Don’t forget, views are never one way. Standing on a beach looking out over the sea is one view, but so is turning around and looking back at the fishing village, port, town, forest, desert, other people on the beach.
  9. Animals – pets is an obvious one, but there are also zoo animals, animals you saw in the wild, creatures you see every day; the frog that lives under the broken pot in the garden, the neighbour’s cat, the crow that sits on your gatepost every morning, the hadadas digging for worms on the lawn etc.
  10. Homes – the one(s) you grew up in, your grandparents’, your friends’, the boarding school you might have gone to etc.
  11. Food and Drink – home cooked, at restaurants, take-aways, etc.
  12. Clothing – school uniforms, military uniforms, wool, cotton, synthetics, wedding dresses, Lycra swimsuits that didn’t fit properly, socks that kept falling down, etc.
  13. Events – first day at junior or senior school or university, on your first job, being fired, made redundant, first date, breaking up, coming-of-age events, engagements, weddings, births, deaths, funerals, the look of delight or disappointment on a parent’s face, finding an old love letter your grandad wrote – big all small our lives are filled with events that can be translated into our writing.
  1. Food and Drink – home cooked, at restaurants, take-aways, etc.
  2. Clothing – school uniforms, military uniforms, wool, cotton, synthetics, wedding dresses, Lycra swimsuits that didn’t fit properly, socks that kept falling down, etc.
  3. Events – first day at junior or senior school or university, on your first job, being fired, made redundant, first date, breaking up, coming-of-age events, engagements, weddings, births, deaths, funerals, the look of delight or disappointment on a parent’s face, finding an old love letter your grandad wrote – big all small our lives are filled with events that can be translated into our writing.

Every memory is a mine of information.

  1. Physicality – what does the person, place, mode of transport look like?
  2. Senses – what did it/they smell like, sound like, taste like, behave.
  3. Surrounds – was the weather trying to kill you, or did it taste like champagne.
  4. At the time emotions – how did you feel at the time you experienced the event?
  5. Looking back emotions – our feelings about our memories change. How do they make you feel now.
  6. Music – a song can unleash a significant memory.

How To Use Memory In Writing

Yes, I hear you say, but I’m writing a space adventure not a memoir! Maybe, but the memory of not being picked up from school because your parents forgot you could easily be used to describe the feeling that an astronaut may feel if their spouse isn’t there to welcome them home after a mission. Of the feeling their child feels when they can’t be there for the kid’s sports day because they’re on a mission to Mars. You don’t have to describe the feeling you felt being forgotten at school, but you can use that confused sadness and anger to inform your protagonist’s emotion.

Every memory can feed your writing, whether you’re writing a period romance, a contemporary thriller, a comedy, or a dystopian story. While it may be your memory, it can be the thing that your character is experiencing. Rummage through your memory for something similar that you’ve experienced that can help you develop believable reactions, emotions, and experiences for your characters. The plot of your book is a series of steps from A to Z. The story is the experiences, encounters, and emotions your characters go through. Use your memories to give those life.

Memories may also be unreliable. This is great for causing conflict in fiction writing.

The Last Word

If you’d like to write for children, young adults, or adults, why not sign up for one of the rich and in-depth courses that Writers Write offers to learn how to write the best book you possibly can.

by Elaine Dodge. Author of The Harcourts of Canada series and The Device Hunter, Elaine trained as a graphic designer, then worked in design, advertising, and broadcast television. She now creates content, mostly in written form, including ghost writing business books, for clients across the globe, but would much rather be drafting her books and short stories.